Purpose: Stigma reduction is an important public health challenge because of the large morbidity and mortality associated with some forms of substance use. Extreme stigma can lead to dehumanisation of target groups, who are ascribed with lesser humanity. The authors examined whether there was blatant and subtle dehumanisation of people who use…

The urgency of this study has become vivid in the light of the growing problem of prevalence and use of new synthetic drug types. Lately there has been a tendency of expanding the range of psychologically active substances (PAS) used by addicts with the purpose of their illegal taking. The aim of this research is an attempt of systematizing and…

Background: Negative attitudes towards substance use and Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) are among the commonly cited barriers to screening and treating these disorders by physicians. These negative attitudes have also been reported in medical students. The aim of this study was to examine attitudes of medical students in Israel towards nicotine,…

There is a persistent opinion that the spread of narcotics abuse is taking in more and more young people and having an impact on the economic, political, and cultural development of society. Data obtained by sociologists and criminologists make it possible to single out the factors, conditions, and channels of the spread of psychoactive substances…

In the past 10 to 15 years, the wide prevalence of various forms of negative behavior among young people in college has become one of the main causes of their deteriorating health. Traditionally classified among such forms are the excessive consumption of alcohol, smoking, and narcotics abuse. Issues relating to the protection of students' health…

Aims: To determine the prevalence and nature of prescription drug misuse among university staff and students in the UK. Methods: In 2009, an online questionnaire regarding non-medical use of prescription drugs was completed by 1614 students and 489 staff registered at a large university in Wales. The sample data were weighted to match the…

Survey data on the problem of drug abuse in Russia show a high level of awareness of the issue among young people. To reduce the level of drug use in Russia, a comprehensive, focused, and coordinated program involving representatives of official state and social institutions, as well as institutions of civil society, is needed. Combining their…

This study investigated the relationships among sleep problems, learning difficulties and substance use in adolescence. Previous research suggests that these variables share an association with executive functioning deficits, and are intertwined. The sample comprised 427 adolescents (M age = 16 years) attending remedial schools and 276 adolescents…

The activities of religious organizations have been the cause of numerous disputes first and foremost because it was only relatively recently that these organizations came to be involved as active agents in antinarcotics policy, and there is little if any unanimity of opinion as regards how "useful" or "harmful" they are in…

Purpose: The feasibility of a community-level drug prevention intervention based upon the principles of motivational interviewing within a further education college was investigated in a pilot study. Design/methodology/approach: The implementation over the course of a single term of "Let's Talk about Drugs" was studied with both action…

Five days in East Timor visiting orphanages changed the lives of five young men from Youth Off The Streets. The children in these orphanages run by the Salesian order of the Catholic church are products of the Indonesian invasion, which began in 1975 and continued until 1999. Massive destruction occurred throughout the country. Buildings at the…

This paper describes a research project sponsored and funded by the State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Affairs (INL) on substance abuse and treatment in ten countries. The purpose of the study was to identify promising practices in drug treatment in Europe, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. The steps taken to complete this…

The development of the drug overuse and addiction treatment models in the United States has an enormous impact on the adoption of similar activities throughout the world. The increased globalization of substance abuse attracted treatment practitioners from Europe to the U.S. to examine the implementation of therapeutic community and other models…

In a study to evaluate the drug treatment and aftercare efforts sponsored by the State Department's International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Bureau, residential Therapeutic Community (TC) treatment programs in three countries in Southeast Asia--Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand--were examined to identify promising practices and to…

In a study to evaluate the drug treatment and aftercare efforts sponsored by the State Department's International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Bureau, residential Therapeutic Community (TC) treatment programs in three Latin American countries--Brazil, Peru and Argentina--were examined to identify promising practices and to assess lessons…